MAPA Enews - October 2026

MAPA Board Member Applications DUE TODAY 10/30

A final reminder for anyone considering a seat on the MAPA Board of Directors — applications are due by end of day today, October 30, 2026. If you've been thinking about getting more involved in shaping the direction of the association, this is the last call. Reach out to the MAPA office right away if you have questions about the application or the time commitment involved.

Application Form

2026 MN Asphalt Conference: Registration Open, Jessie Diggins Keynote, Sponsorships and Booths Still Available!

Registration is open for the 2026 MN Asphalt Conference, happening Monday, November 30 – Tuesday, December 1, 2026 at Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, MN. We're excited to announce our keynote speaker: Jessie Diggins, the Olympic gold-medal cross-country skier from Afton, Minnesota, and a vocal mental health advocate. Jessie's story of grit, resilience, and performing at the highest level is one we think will resonate with everyone in this industry — don't miss it.

A number of conference sponsorships have already sold, including the Awards Dinner, Lanyard, Tote Bag, Keynote, Awards Lunch, General Session Day 1, Auction, Wi-Fi, and Breakfast sponsorships — thank you to those sponsors! Still available: General Session Day 2 ($1,750), Schedule-at-a-Glance ($1,250), and Break ($750) sponsorships, alongside Platinum ($2,000), Gold ($1,250), and Silver ($750) general sponsorship levels.

Vendor booth pricing:

An additional booth representative badge is $200 (does not include the Awards Dinner), and Awards Dinner tickets are $100 per person. Exhibitor listings require registration by November 17, 2026.

Register, view the full schedule, and reserve a booth:

 asphaltisbest.com — MAPA 2026 Conference

Any sponsorship questions, please reach out to ky.carlson@ewald.com

MnDOT Reaches Milestone in Responsible Stewardship of Highway System

MnDOT is celebrating the completion of the 2026 Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP), which has now been officially certified by the Federal Highway Administration. MnDOT's TAMP documents the condition of highway network assets, anticipated risks, and the money MnDOT needs to preserve and maintain those assets. This federally required plan is updated every four years and covers twelve types of MnDOT-owned assets: pavements, bridges, culverts, deep stormwater tunnels, overhead sign structures, high-mast light tower structures, noise walls, signals, lighting, pedestrian infrastructure, buildings, and intelligent transportation systems.

The TAMP is a genuinely useful resource — it's where you'll find answers to questions like how many bridges MnDOT owns (Chapter 3, page 21), what targets MnDOT has set for grey stormwater infrastructure (Chapter 4, page 51), and how MnDOT is approaching climate resilience (Chapter 5, page 90). Worth bookmarking for anyone who fields these kinds of questions from members, clients, or elected officials.

Check out the new TAMP: MnDOT — Asset Management

MnDOT Research Spotlight: New Project on Improving Asphalt Pavement Durability

A new MnDOT and Local Road Research Board-funded research project is underway to make Minnesota's asphalt pavements last longer. The project will first review emerging technologies, materials, and temperature-control methods for asphalt durability, then dig into two specific approaches in depth: warm mix asphalt (WMA) and updated asphalt binder specifications.

On the lab side, the team will compare WMA against conventional mixes using compaction and low-temperature cracking resistance testing, and will evaluate new binder specification parameters using the Bending Beam Rheometer and Asphalt Binder Cracking Device to better predict cracking behavior. The goal is a set of practical, Minnesota-specific guidelines for using WMA and improved binder selection — guidelines that should help extend pavement life, reduce maintenance costs and emissions, and give agencies with limited budgets a better basis for decision-making. The project is estimated to run through June 30, 2027.

Read the full project summary: Minnesota Transportation Research — Tools to improve the durability of asphalt pavements

University of Minnesota LTAP Now Registering ADA Construction Certification and Recertification Classes

The University of Minnesota LTAP is now accepting registrations for its ADA Construction Certification classes, running at locations across the state between early February and mid-April 2027. Please feel free to pass this along to anyone on your team who would benefit — this course is required for a minimum of one contractor's representative working on MnDOT projects that include ADA work, and MnDOT/Consultant Chief Inspectors should attend along with any other ADA inspectors. State, county, and city engineers are also encouraged to participate.

The course is an 8-hour classroom training (including an exam) designed to give MnDOT Contract Administration Personnel, Contractors, and Consultant Inspectors a detailed understanding of the construction of accessible sidewalks, curb ramps, and signal systems. It covers MnDOT Special Provisions Prosecution of Work ADA (1804), Curb Ramp Standard Plan 5-297.250, Sidewalk and Driveway Standard Plan 5-297.254, Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS), and pay items and compliance checklists.

Separately, ADA Construction Recertification classes are open for registration and can be completed starting February 1, 2027.

Registration and the up-to-date certification list: MnDOT — ADA Training

Questions? Contact Dustin Walls (Dustin.Walls@state.mn.us, 218-396-0865) or Harvey Unruh (Harvey.Unruh@state.mn.us, 651-216-2912).

Take the Survey! Bridge Approach Roadway Embankment Improvements

On behalf of the Bridge Approach Roadway Embankment Improvements research team, MnDOT needs your input to help identify the prevalence, causes, and design and maintenance best practices for bridge approach roadway settlement — better known as "the bump at the end of the bridge" — in Minnesota. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes to fill out the survey for this groundbreaking research study, and your real-world field experience is exactly the kind of input this project needs.

Survey deadline: November 12, 2026. — Joe Nietfeld, MnDOT principal engineer and project champion

Take the survey: forms.gle/VeLsXU1VQHrqcMGM7

Project details: MnDOT Research — Bridge Approach Roadway Embankment Improvements

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Survey

MAPA is partnering with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis on a short survey to give local businesses a voice in understanding the impact the economy is having on companies like yours. Answers to these questions contribute to regional data that helps inform the work of the Minneapolis Fed, local partners, and policymakers — a public good that ultimately benefits your business and others like it across the industry.

All responses are confidential. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey so that your experience is represented in the data.

Start the survey: https://www.research.net/r/26_fall_const?org_name=N14

Federal Update: Government Funded Through December 11 - Highway Bill Still in Limbo

Following up on what we flagged back in August: Congress did pass a short-term continuing resolution extending both government funding and the IIJA's surface transportation authorities through December 11, 2026, averting a shutdown at the September 30 deadline. That buys more time, but it is not a substitute for a long-term reauthorization — and it does not preserve all of the IIJA's advance appropriations for transit and rail, meaning some non-highway programs are already seeing funding disruptions even with the highway extension in place.

On the House side, the BUILD America 250 Act — a roughly $580 billion, five-year reauthorization proposal that cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee back in May on a 62-2 vote — still has not received a full House floor vote. The Senate, for its part, has not yet released its own bill text; its Environment and Public Works Committee has held hearings but has not advanced formal legislation. With the clock now ticking down toward the new December deadline, expect this to remain one of the top issues NAPA and AASHTO are tracking heading into the new year, and one MAPA will continue to flag for members as it develops.

Background on the BUILD America 250 Act: AASHTO — Comprehensive section-by-section analysis

Questions about anything in this issue? Reach out to Kate Heine at MAPA.